Blinddog sent in this story about these wartime gals who were merely “temporary substitutes for men” while the boys went to war.
Yeah, no. This band was great. And I rather look at this orchestra leader than a Glenn Miller-
Viola is featured in this clip. (What’s the deal with the bent cymbals? Did all of our metal, including cymbals, go to the war effort?)
Interview when she was 100–>
BFH, when the new Zildjian factory opened in Norwell, MA we toured it and saw many examples of cymbals thru the company’s history. Many weren’t the perfect specimens we see today and like me, some were warped….
PS, that band is the cat’s meow.
Merry Christmas Y’all !
Give that lady a hand! Love the Big Band sound!
Here is one of my absolute favorites for the Christmas Holiday –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khQN5ylb3H0
Enjoy & Merry Christmas!
I’d have loved to have seen a drum-off between Ms Viola Smith and Gene Krupa. How awesome would that have been!
Very cool!
@ Deplorable B Woodman
Agreed, they both had that syncopated style of drumming.
What is it about big band music that makes me want to get up and dance and I can’t dance worth beans? Sometimes I think our parents had better music than we did as baby boomers. And I love listening to Benny Goodman and a lot of the swing band music (as well as jazz and ragtime music) from the generation before me. Merry Christmas everyone, it’s going to be a great day today.
The Band Leader HAD To Of Been A Redhead!